1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for providing route guidance based on emotion and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for providing route guidance based on emotion, which are capable of providing route guidance in accordance with a user's emotion and perform route guidance that helps to improve the user's emotion, thereby improving the quality of life.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, an interest in helper technology for improving the quality of life has rapidly increased. In particular, even in a vehicle that is a necessity in modern life, an interest in route guidance technology for improving the quality of life has rapidly increased.
In a common route guidance technology, a route is calculated by taking into account only the current position and destination of a vehicle, and then guidance related to the calculated route is provided. In a route guidance technology for improving the quality of life, it is an important factor to provide a route desired by a user in addition to a route in which only a current position and destination of a vehicle have been taken into account.
Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2012-0078130 is directed to a route provision method and a recording medium, and discloses a route guidance technology based on the type of vehicle, in which information about a vehicle is received, the type of vehicle is determined based on the information, a passable route is determined based on the type of vehicle, and route guidance related to a route calculated within the passable route is provided.
Furthermore, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2012-0086579 is directed to a learning-type route provision method for a car navigation system, and discloses a learning-type route guidance technique for performing user-tailored route guidance, in which a car navigation system calculates a route, provides the calculated route to the user, gathers statistics of route information corresponding to a re-calculation section while newly calculating a route if the user deviates from the route during the route guidance, and incorporates the gathered statistics into the calculation of a next route.
However, these conventional route guidance technologies disclose only the type of vehicle and the deviation of the user from a route, that is, factors that are considered when a route is calculated, but do not disclose a technology in which the user's emotion is taken into account. Furthermore, with regard to the presentation of a calculated route, the conventional route guidance technologies do not disclose or suggest a detailed technology for performing route guidance related to a preferred route if the user has selected a route or performing route guidance corresponding to changed emotion if there is a change in the user's emotion. Moreover, the conventional route guidance technologies do not disclose or suggest a technology for providing audio, video, and lighting corresponding to the user's emotion in addition to the route guidance, thereby performing route guidance that helps to improve the user's emotion, together with route guidance that has been tailored to the user's emotion.
Accordingly, with regard to a route guidance technology for improving the quality of life, there is an urgent need for a new route guidance technology for obtaining information about a user's emotion, providing an emotion route to the user using the information, providing route guidance related to a preferred route if the user has selected a route or providing route guidance corresponding to the change in emotion if there is a change in the user's emotion, and providing audio, video, and lighting corresponding to the user's emotion in addition to the route guidance, thereby performing route guidance that helps to improve the user's emotion, together with route guidance that has been tailored to the user's emotion.